One thing that came out of my visit to the Florida Panthers practice this morning at the Pepsi Center: if Jean-Sebastien Giguere hadn’t signed with the Avs last summer, the Avs were looking at going back to Jose Theodore as a backup to Semyon Varlamov.
“I almost came back here,” Theodore said.

Leaving any judgments out from my end, it’s worked out well for both sides. Jiggy has resurrected his career in the Avs’ net, and Theodore is having a good season with the Panthers (though he did let in a couple of bad goals to cost his team the win Wednesday night).

The other news concerning the Avs today: Brandon Yip was claimed off waivers by Nashville. I was a little surprised, but Yip’s salary ($725,000) and unrestricted free agent status at the end of the season made him a reasonable gamble for the Preds.

Yip just seemed to turn into a different player after his first solid rookie season here. He wasn’t as physical, was a liability defensively and stopped going to the net. He posted 22 points in his final 81 games for the Avs.

Very nice day at the Pepsi Center. Avs get Adam Foote a win in his final game, good crowd, lots of nostalgia and shaking of hands and “have a good summer” and just one big happy bowl of humanity at the Can.

I could go all Scrooge here, but I won’t. Well maybe a little: I’ll just say this: the Avs are on the clock. Soon enough that will be the case at the draft in St. Paul, and when next season starts, the clock will start on the excuses that were – in my book – too easily bandied about in the final two months. If you listened around the building today, the entire reason for the Avs’ 5-26-2 finish to the final 33 began and ended with injuries.

Of course, we all agree with some of that. Injuries played a big role in the record. But I didn’t hear enough accountability today for my taste otherwise. Basically, the Avs need to be fully healthy to be any good, we were told too often in the final two months. Otherwise, it’s just too tough to overcome.

OK, fine. But next year? Nothing is going to work as an excuse. Nothing. If the same number of injuries occur, then the Avs have to find players who don’t get hurt as much. If it’s always about the players who aren’t on the ice, then the Avs need to change management and come up with a philosophy where it’s about the players who are on the ice.

They’re on the clock.

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Above is a picture of Adam Foote officially doing his last interview, in the hallway outside the Avs’ dressing room. Below is a video of his next-to-last:

I’ll miss Foote. He is a genuinely good person, who really matured a lot as a player. He was a lot more hot-headed and emotional as a younger player, sometimes with the media. As the years went by, he was the sage, wise old owl. But he never lost his passion for the game. In fact, I think it increased more as the years went by. I think he appreciated things more, and was more thankful for all the game had given him.

He was a character in some ways. He was never wrong about anything – and I mean that in a humorous way. I think back to my first year covering the team, 1995-96, with a funny story, to me at least: I quoted him in the paper once, something about him saying the team needed to be better, that guys had to step up more, etc, etc. It kind of came out in print that he was ripping on teammates a little, and he denied saying the words. He said I misquoted him, and his teammates were all ripping on me the next day in the locker room – and this was after a practice at the old DU Arena.

Too bad for him I had the crude audiotape still – those big-box tape recorders back then – and clicked “play” on it when Claude Lemieux and some players demanded to hear the tape. Foote sheepishly walked away as the tape played, and everybody started giving him the business. It became a frequent inside joke over the next year. Foote learned to watch his words a little closer after that, but never lost his sense of humor over the incident. That’s what I liked about him – he took himself seriously, but not too serious to be a jerk.

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Avs fans should tune in to Versus at 6 p.m. Tuesday night (not 6 a.m. like I wrote earlier). That’s when the NHL’s draft order will be determined, via the weighted lottery. Avs have 98.5 percent chance of getting two of the top 11 picks. They could still get the No. 1 pick. Odds favor Edmonton getting the No. 1, but it could happen for the Avs.

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I tried to talk to Peter Mueller after the game, but he wasn’t available. Will he be back for training camp next fall? I think he will. But is it for certain, even at this date? No.

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Former Avs I’m happy for as the playoffs begin:
– Jose Theodore, for spoiling Dallas’ hopes today. The Stars didn’t deserve it. They barely beat a horrible Avs team in two games before today, and choked when it mattered most. Andrew Brunette added two assists too.
– Teemu Selanne, for an incredible second half with Anaheim.
– Chris Drury, with a huge goal Saturday that helped the Rangers get in the playoffs.
– Cody McCormick, who played a solid role with Buffalo this year and now gets to play in the postseason.
– Johnny Boychuk, who had a fine season as a D-man in Boston.

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Milan Hejduk officially said he wants to come back for another year with the Avs. The team will re-sign him, I’m 100 percent confident.
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Thanks for reading through all 82 games everyone. We’ll be blogging as much as ever through the off-season, though. Plenty of stuff still to come.

Don Meehan, the agent for former Avs goalie Jose Theodore and current left winger Ryan Smyth, is one of the good guys in the business. At least he is to us newspaper guys. He calls you back, which is more than about 80 percent of NHL agents do. The surprising thing about that is, he’s probably one of the 10 most powerful people in all of hockey. His client list is staggering.

He’s been negotiating contracts for 30 years now, and has seen it all. (By the way, a few people have asked me over the years what an agent’s usual commission is on a new contract. And the answer is: usually 1 percent. Some guys might get 2 or maybe a little more, depending on that they do in a particular deal, but 1 percent is the standard. So, for every $1 million in a contract, the agent gets 10 grand. A $22 million deal (see below), and you’ve got 220K. Not bad work if you can get it).

Today, I spoke with him on the phone about the situation that went down with Theodore and the Avs. Tomorrow, I’ll have a column in the print paper talking about this more and what happened with NHL free agency in general. Read more…

Marian Hossa to the Wings. Marian Hossa just joined a Wings team that sliced through the NHL last year like a Ginsu through a nice, fresh, wet piece of salmon.

Just give the Wings Cup now, and spare us all the trips to downtown Detroit, can we?

Last night on 104.3 The Fan, I said Hossa had a good chance at going to the Wings, and was scoffed at. How can the Wings do that, Joe and Jim wondered? Aren’t they right up against the cap as it is? Read more…

Ever date someone who wasn’t all that much before you met them. In fact, they were kind of a mess? Then, a year or two later – whether from being in your aura, or going on a great workout plan or hot new diet or some great new job – they become more “marketable”, and then they dump your sorry butt? And, worse, they never gave you any credit for the part you played in their asendancy?

Yup, been there. After thinking it over a bit today, and after reading a lot of your reaction to today’s news, first reported right here on this blog, that Jose Theodore will test the free-agent market, I’m thinking that situation applies a little here. Read more…

There should be a story up soon on the Post’s website, but I wanted to quickly write here that talks between the Avs and Jose Theodore have broken down, and his agent, Don Meehan, said Theodore will be on the NHL open market July 1.

It’s not every day hockey scribblers like me get a chance to talk to a real, live movie star, but yesterday I, along with a handful of other journalists, had a chance to chat with Mike Myers about his forthcoming movie, “The Love Guru.” Read more…

I think it’s possible we’ll be hearing soon about Joel Quenneville going to San Jose to coach the Sharks. My good friend Scotty Morrison from the CBC first got the ball rolling on that speculation yesterday, and the people I’ve talked to seem to think that could happen as well. Read more…

Greetings from Cranberry Township, PA., where I’ll be holed up for the next few days covering the Stanley Cup Finals. The Pittsburgh suburb is home to a particularly fine Italian joint named Monte Cello’s, where I dined and watched the Pirates get blown out again last night. I’m a fantasy baseball geek with a couple of players in the game last night, so that’s why I was glued to the set. Or, should I just take the word “baseball” out from that last sentence?

Man, it was sure weird seeing Kent Tekulve doing color work on the local FSN channel here after the game. He’s not quite the string bean he used to be, and he’s grayed around the temples some, for sure. But he was fun to listen to.

As of today (Wed.), there still have been no talks between the Avalanche and Jose Theodore’s agent, Don Meehan. That’s something of a surprise, but I don’t think people should read too much into it.
Meehan thought he would have lunch with Giguere in Toronto this week, at the NHL scouting combine. But Giguere decided not to go to Toronto. Right now, many Avs scouts, along with Avs director of player development, Craig Billington, are there.
. Read more…

Well, so much for going with a fresh, new approach.
I’ve said it before – nothing the Avalanche does ever totally surprises me. At this point, today’s news that Tony Granato will be the head coach – again – had the effect on me of an already electrocuted man falling into the live wire fence one more time.

I’ll have more to say on this matter later, but for now it’s back to the computer to resurrect all my old profiles of Tony G.

Here’s one quick thought, though: you can’t tell me this move doesn’t at least have Pierre Lacroix’s fingerprints on it just a little. He’s the most stubborn man alive, and hired Granato in the first place. He might want to “see this thing through” and prove to the world Granato was a great choice all along.

Yeah, Granato has a great regular-season record. His playoff record is also 9-9 (I had it 7-9 in an earlier version of this blog, which once again goes to prove what a moron I am with numbers and math).

I’ve thought it over since earlier in the day, and one of the things I’m starting to wonder is: did we maybe pre-judge Granato a little too much?

You look at his record – 72-33-17-11 – and you think, “Hmm, that’s not too bad, is it?

Yeah, he had about eight Hall of Famers on his teams. And, yeah, he lost a first-round series to a Minnesota team he had down 3-1. But let’s not forget how hot that Wild team got in 2003. They beat a very good Vancouver team in the second round, too.

The next season, 2003-04, is considered a disappointment in Avs history. After all, this was a team with a top six forward lineup of Joe Sakic, Milan Hejduk, Alex Tanguay, Paul Kariya, Peter Forsberg and Teemu Selanne. And, a defense with Adam Foote and Rob Blake.

But – and yes, it’s an excuse – but the fact is injuries hurt that team a lot. Astute Avs fans will recall the team was rolling, with the best record in the league in February of that season, when injuries started coming in waves. Kariya hurt his wrist and was ineffective after that, and then he hurt his ankle in the last game of the regular season and missed all but one game of the playoffs. Selanne had the worst year of his career, mainly because of a bum knee that would need surgery. And Forsberg was hurt a lot of the second half, of course.

But that team did DID win a first-round series against a favored Dallas team that had home-ice advantage, and it went to six games against a good San Jose team that got away with a mugging, rodeo-style of defense in the pre-lockout, dead puck era. And, David Aebischer was their starting goalie.

So, while I’m surprised by the move and thought the Avs would move in a fresher direction behind the bench, the question is not an unfair one: Did Granato really get enough of a fair shake the first time around? It IS a fact that he has the highest winning percentage in Avalanche history. Granted, he’s also coached far fewer games than some coaches in the team’s history, but the numbers are the numbers.

I, like a lot of people, probably underestimated the fact that Granato wasn’t sent packing in 2004, but instead was kept on the bench still. The Avs’ front office obviously sees something in Granato, otherwise he never would have gotten the chances he’s gotten.

The cynic in me also says this: The Avs are uncomfortable at the thought of a high-profile, opinionated type of coach, a guy like a Pat Burns or Ron Wilson or Barry Melrose. They want in-house, home-grown guys who they can better control. The real cynic in me says they only want subservient puppets, and they want to stubbornly go against public opinion (i.e., the media) and never admit a mistake. Hence, Granato’s rehire.

I guess next year we’ll start to find out who was right.

– It’s in my story tomorrow, but I think the chances are good Jose Theodore comes back. I talked to his agent today and he’s going to sit down for lunch with Giguere next week in Toronto, and talk some contract over their chicken and pasta. The agent, Don Meehan, has a pretty good relationship with Giguere, having already done one major deal with Giguere (Ryan Smyth).

– I pressed Giguere a bit today on whether Lacroix’s fingerprints are on this rehire, and he got a little defensive. No, he’s not a puppet, was the thrust of his message and no, it was not Lacroix’s call in bringing Granato back. But he also did say that he’s not going to just disavow everything Lacroix ever did either, just to show he’s “his own man.”

– People have gotten all over Granato for the team’s awful power play this year (28th) in the league. But the one full year Granato did coach, the Avs finished third in the league on the PP.

– Granato got the offer late last night, and signed it soon after. There’s no word on who will replace him as an assistant (assuming the team’s institution, Jacques Cloutier, stays on again). I wouldn’t be surprised if Sylvain Lefebvre or even Steve Konowalchuk gets a shot, though.

Well what do you know, the game I cover is starting to become cool again.
After too many cracks than I care to recall from wisenheimers telling me I cover a sport less popular than poker, arena football and community access prep games of the week, here are some numbers to stick in your collective pipes and smoke: Read more…

You guys can rip me all day long for picking the Wild, or berate me if you don’t like the way I write or if you don’t like my hair color or think I’m a few cards short of a full deck, and that’s fine. I dish it out for a living at times, so I can certainly take it.

But let’s reiterate something, because a lot of you seem to be confused about what my job entails. First off, the oldest rule in sports writing is “No cheering in the press box.” That means, no pulling for the team you cover. Any breaking of this rule, and you can kiss your credibility goodbye forever as a journalist. Read more…

Well, I just finished watching a game I thought the Avalanche had NO chance to win after it was half over, and instead win 4-2.
And I just realized that I will not be getting on a plane to Detroit next week, as I was pretty well resigned to do. So, from a selfish standpoint, I’m a happy guy right now. Sure, I could have sold a few more books with an Avs-Wings first-round series, but as I wrote in said book, “Blood Feud”, this is the time of year when sports writers start cheering – for the warmest, nicest city possible as a playoff opponent. Read more…

First off, went to museums today in Washington, and the overriding thing I always feel when finishing going to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum is: boy, do I feel dumb.
I mean, I’m always like, “How did they DO that?” How did they make that Apollo 11 capsule go all the way to the moon and back. Then you see in another museum how the first computers were made, and on and on and I feel like “Geez, I should have studied harder in school. Because I have NO idea how they all work. Guess that’s why I’m a hockey writer, eh folks?
OK, here’s my prediction of something soon regarding the Avalanche: they will make a BIG pitch to Peter Forsberg IF IF IF he decides he can play again this year. That decision should come soon. I’m not hearing anything overly negative about his latest condition, so it might happen. Read more…

Actually, writing here from Livonia, Mich. Before I step out for a bite to eat, then an early night to bed thanks to a raging sinus infection, thought I’d mention that it’ll be Jose Theodore in the nets versus Detroit tonight – on Versus!
Detroit is the best team in the league so far – no question about it – so it could be a long night at the Joe for the visitors.
Looks like Arnason won’t play until Wednesday in Washington, so expect Cumiskey and Boychuk on a forward line again Tuesday.
The Wings are just an absolute machine right now, so I’m predicting a 6-2 final. The question about the Wings remains: will be they be big and tough enough for the playoff grind, or will injuries take a toll on some of their older players?
I think they’re even more skilled than last year and are outskating everybody by heads and tails, so I think they will win the Cup again if their bigs stay healthy.
The weather was 62 degrees when I got here. That’s, what 62 degrees warmer than where I took off this morning? Never thought people would be jealous of me being here in January.
Until tomorrow….

I wrote this for the online version of the paper earlier today, but I guess nobody was around to put it in. That happens on Fridays sometimes, as the Post is the paper that that doesn’t publish on Saturday, while the News doesn’t publish on Sunday – not in print anyway. Read more…

Andrew Brunette took a bad fall at practice today, which I detailed in a story on the Post’s Avs site.
He lost an edge by the boards, just as practice was over, and fell hard into the boards.

He seems to be OK, which is good news for the Avs. But the Avs whisked him away after practice and didn’t let him talk to us inky-stained wretches, so it’s possible something worse happened. We’ll keep you posted!

In other news, Jose Theodore will, indeed, start Friday’s game in Dallas. The Stars, as I predicted before the season, are in a bit of turmoil. Doug Armstrong was axed as GM, and it might not be long before Dave Tippett is out too.

If that happens, expect Tony Granato to be on the list of possible Stars head coaching candidates. He’s tight with Stars executive Dave Taylor from their days in L.A. together, and Granato was a candidate for the last Kings coaching job, which eventually went to Marc Crawford.

It will be Jose Theodore’s second start in a heartland American city tomorrow night, in less than a week. This time, in St. Louis, it will come in a league with an ‘N’ in front of the ‘HL’, not an ‘A.’
Hard to believe Theodore is back for another year with the Avalanche, period, after what was basically a disastrous 2006-07. Read more…

I plead ‘no mas.’ I was a one-time critic of Bill Simmons, but I caught myself totally laughing out loud tonight reading his photo essay on a Red Sox game he attended recently at Tropicana Park in Tampa. Read more…

Terry Frei graduated from Wheat Ridge High School in the Denver area and has degrees in history and journalism from the University of Colorado-Boulder. He worked for the Rocky Mountain News while attending CU and joined the Post staff after graduation. He has also worked at the Oregonian in Portland, Ore., and The Sporting News. His seventh book, March 1939: Before the Madness, was issued in February 2014.

Chambers covers college and professional hockey for The Denver Post. He has written for the Post since 1994, after dumping his first 9-to-5 office job a couple years out of college. He primarily follows the University of Denver hockey team and helps cover the Avalanche.